Mega Artist Khary Randolph talks Marvel’s MOSAIC

MARVEL: Superhero/ action-adventure

MOSAIC

Looking for something new, fresh and badass then this is the comic for you.

Mosaic, written by Geoffrey Thorne with pencils by Khary Randolph, launched its first issue this past October. Recently released; Issue #5 just concluded Chapter 1, and so far this series has me hooked! I had the chance to chat with Khary about creating this new groundbreaking hero!

Mosaic features the cocky, arrogant world renowned celebrity super star basketball legend; Morris Sackett; Aka The Lebron James of the Marvel Universe.

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“So yeah, guess I gotta share the five rings with the rest of the Stride. I mean they were there too”.

That was Morris’ mentality, he was never a team player.

Morris had it all; lavish lifestyle, money, cars, fancy apartment, fancy parties, the MVP title along with 5 championship rings, and superstar hottie girlfriend TFleek (likeness of Iggy Azalea) by his side.

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But all of that changes when a freaky inhuman attack involving (Terrigen Mist) T-Clouds absorbs Morris’ body transforming him into a ghostly figure with inhuman abilities. After this incident everyone assumes that Morris is dead, unknowingly that he jumped into someone else’s body!

Without a life-form he experiences weird vision and confusion as no one can see or hear him.

Morris’ inhuman transformation has the ability to attach to “Host.” He jumps from body to body assuming full control of the body and minds of his inhabitants! Hence, the title “MOSAIC”

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One thing that really stood out to me were the memory panels when Morris first possesses a body and gains their memories. I think Khary did a really great job portraying this process in a way the reader can easily understand what Morris is experiencing.

After gaining these new abilities, Morris is vulnerable and alone. Throughout the story he makes some new enemies with a group known as Brand Corp. Along the ride, he also makes some new allies. Trust me there are many crazy mind blown twist that will have the reader ready for more.

1. How did you; along with your “partner-in-crime” colorist Emilio Lopez become a part of this brand new series?

Well, it’s a funny story. Emilio and our editor Nick Lowe just happened to be serving jury duty together one day and when they both realized they worked in comics they started talking. Nick was apparently a fan of the book we were working on (Tech Jacket) and basically was like “when you guys are free give us a ring, we’d love to work with you.” Fast forward to when we were wrapping up Robin War for DC Comics and Nick hit me with an email like “we have an idea I think you’d be perfect for.” And the rest is history.

2. Were you given any direction as to how the characters must look? Or were you given some creative freedom being that this is an entirely new series?

There was a very early rough sketch I think, but I kinda just did my own thing. There wasn’t a lot of creative direction. My first and only sketch got approved immediately, and then I hit Emilio and was like “do your thing, homey.” Marvel has really kinda let me and E do our thing on this series, which has been really nice.

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3. How did you decide to create Morris’ new body form (Mosaic)?

Geoffrey wrote out a page describing exactly what his powers are and what he can do, and what I took away from it was that he is a being a pure energy. He has no body of his own anymore so he is reliant on the body of others to survive. As such, my idea was that he’s constantly fighting to contain the energy in this husk or shell of a body. The shell is constantly breaking and reforming so it’s always in flux and never looks the same way twice. Which makes my life a lot easier as the artist, because that means I can never draw it wrong haha.

“It’s not everyday that Marvel publishes a book starring an all-new character with an all-new name, so the privilege isn’t lost on us. Morris Sackett is a special and unique character but is still so very…Marvel.” -Nick Lowe Executive Editor (Say Your Piece)

4. Did you face any challenges or obstacles working on an entirely new series, and if so how did you overcome them? Was there ever any doubt about taking on a brand new character?

There are challenges but nothing I haven’t faced before. It’s daunting because there’s nothing created before this to fall back on. It’s much easier to update an existing character than to create something from scratch. But the idea of adding a new character to a universe as rich as Marvel’s? Hell naw, no doubts whatsoever. My entire career has been built around building new characters and worlds so this was no different.

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5.What do you think sets Mosaic apart from any other comic out now?

You mean besides it being dope? Joking, of course (sort of). The thing I like about this book is that MOSAIC almost feels like an outsider to the Marvel Universe looking in. Like, he may be an Inhuman, but he has no real affiliation with them or any other superhero groups. This is all new to him. He’s an effective cypher for the reader, because he’s learning about himself and everything else as he goes. This is like if you started reading Spider-Man back in 1962 — ground level superhero ish. He’s technically not even a hero yet! In his very first appearance he’s actually committing crimes, which right or wrong, is a very realistic thing that a lot of normal people would do if they had these kinds of powers. That kind of thing is exciting to me, to see his growth and evolution.

6. What do you hope to see from this character or this series in the future?

In an ideal world it’s fun seeing him become the hero that the reader hopes he will one day become. And due to his power set, he’s ripe for awesome guest appearances. I mean, we had Spider-Man in issue 3. How cool is that???

MOSAIC

7. It was awesome seeing Mosaics interaction with Spider-Man!! Are there any other super cameos that we can expect soon?

Without spoiling things, that is certainly the idea. I have a long list of characters I’d love to draw. And I’d love to do my take on the other Inhumans. Those are some of my favorite Jack Kirby character designs.

8. Will we see new villains, perhaps any enemies that may have also been exposed to the T-cloud?

There will be villains both new and old, trust me. I so wish I could tell you more but there are snipers with infrared outside of my window.

9. What do you do to recharge your creative batteries? How do you get your mind to focus when working on so many other projects?

It’s almost impossible to turn the creative all the way off, so I just try and focus it on other things that will inspire me. This usually comes in the way of movies, cartoons, video games, museums and art galleries. Anything that will give me new ideas that I can transfer back into the work.

10. If you had Morris’ ability to gain access to any memory, skill, or ability, who would you possess (fictional or nonfictional) and why?

Almost certainly Kanye West. I just wanna see what it’s like to live that guy’s life for a day. It’s gotta be pretty fascinating.

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You can also Witness the first meeting between the Inhumans and Mosaic in the current Issue 6!

Published by gothamgeekgirl

HI! My name is Nadya Martinez; I’m a comic book enthusiast, annual comic con attendee, movie loving, art freak. Growing up in NYC I developed a love for the city and art scene. Watching animated cartoons, I grew an obsession with Spiderman and Batman (THAT’S MY HERO!!!) My barbies also preferred action figures over Ken. Originally with fashion in mind, I received my BFA in Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology. However, the late Michael Turner: my biggest influence, really got me into drawing comics. My style fuses both fashion and comic art influences. I am also very inspired by Japanese culture, hence I am learning the language!!
I also love to cosplay, read indie comics and connect with other geeky minds. Always looking for what's new in comics, gaming and entertainment, helping to promote brands, events and creators across the Geek community.
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